Bailey finally on Insulin!

Bailey had a good trip to the vet last night. Her blood clotting issue is over and I can finally give her insulin. It is being dosed differently than generally done by people here on the forum but I can see why the vet is doing it differently. I will follow her instructions for now till both I and Bailey are more familiar with everything. The differences being that I don't give the insulin until after she eats (or actually I gave her first shot while she was still eating). The reason for doing it this way is that the vet wants to make sure she eats. If I give it before and she doesn't eat that could cause a HYPO situation and we don't want that. As for the home BG testing she was ok with me doing that but doesn't want me to do it every meal as it is too much stress on both Bailey and ME. I am going to try and do it with her evening meals as I am not busy rushing off to work. As it is now I am having to get up at 3:45 am to get her morning meds done and all 3 cats fed before I can get ready for work and with winter starting to hit I need to leave earlier. Luckily I only live 5 minutes from work. I will slowly add in more BG testing as I get better at it. She is taking 1 unit Lantus b.i.d.
Ok time to get ready for work. Bailey's first insulin shot given by me went actually well. Lets hope it continues that way!

 

Sounds like a good vet. And a good start for you. Have a nice day at work.

 

FWIW, you're giving your insulin exactly the way we suggest on the Lantus board. Here's the scoop.

Lantus is a long-acting, depot-type of insulin.This is different from many of the other types of insulin that are available which are shorter acting. With a short acting insulin, the insulin "kicks in" (this is called onset) much sooner - in some cases in an hour or less -- and then peaks or reaches nadir (reaches its lowest point in the cycle) as early as 3 - 4 hours after an injection and is done (duration) in 7 - 8 hours. Your cat then has no benefit from insulin for the rest of the 12 hour period. Lantus onset is typically 2 hours after you give a shot, nadir is mid-cycle at about six hours, and there is some overlap with the next shot at 12 hours post-shot. Most of the Lantus users test, feed, and shoot all within a few minutes of each other. I would give Gabby her shot when her face was in her food bowl.

 

Thanks for the input and well wishes! I am not totally sure if I really like this vet but she is better than vets I have dealt with in the past. When I asked her what insulin she was prescribing and she told me Lantus I said good I hear it is one of the best ones and she agreed. That's why she chose it. Ok so I did just fine for both injections today. Both while Bailey had her head buried in her food bowl. A wink to Gabby!

As for the BG test... I totally chickened out!!!! After all she went through yesterday I just couldn't put her through more stress. We were at the vet clinic several hours. (where sadly dogs are barking constantly from the kennel below) On top of being poked and prodded to run tests to make sure her other issues that were delaying the start of the insulin were resolved or at least controlled, she has a minor ear infection. They gave her a (one time) shot for that, which she has no problem with, but they also cleaned her ears. And that she doesn't like! I know from a previous ear infection when I had to do her ear cleaning. So as she is so sensitive in regards to her ears I couldn't bring myself to poke them with the lancet. I think I will be one of the people whom lances in the paw pad. My vet actually said it really doesn't matter where you get the blood from as I need such a small amount. I asked her where they test from and she said they draw from a vein because they are usually running several tests from that one blood draw. The Insulin Technician whom showed me how and where to do the injections said yes the paw pads are fine but to aim for the outer edge of the large pad. I suggested the side of the large pad and she said that would be fine too. Now I just have to bring myself to do it!!!! LOL At least with only 3 insulin injections so far she seems to already getting back to her old playful self!

Luckily for both Bailey and myself my work schedule is consistent and the 12 split between doses works well for me as I am the only care giver for her. My parents are here but both are elderly and cannot do the shots. Just give her lots of luvin' while I am at work and let me know if they see any problems.

 

Good luck with the commencement of the insulin.
Please make sure you test before every shot to see it is safe to give the insulin and if possible during the cycle to see how low the dose is taking Bailey.

Have you seen the link to testing the blood sugars..here it is
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

Thanks Bron for the links. I want to eventually get to the point of testing every meal despite what my vet says. Just trying to find what will work best for Bailey.